1. Field of the Invention
Various embodiments disclosed herein are directed to methods of capturing Vehicle Identification Numbers from images. Capturing VIN data can be useful in several applications, for example, Insurance data capture applications.
2. Related Art
Mobile phone adoption continues to escalate, including ever-growing smart phone adoption and tablet usage. Mobile imaging is a discipline where a consumer takes a picture of a document, and that document is processed, extracting and extending the data contained within it for selected purposes. The convenience of this technique is powerful and is currently driving a desire for this technology throughout financial services and other industries.
A Vehicle Identification Number (“VIN”) is a unique, standardized identification number that appears on every automobile manufactured today. The VIN is used in many applications to identify a vehicle, such as when the vehicle is being sold, when it is being insured, when it requires an inspection or when the owner of the vehicle needs to be identified through a government database of ownership records.
The VIN is found in several different places on the vehicle, such as an engraved stamp on a dashboard just behind a windshield or on a side panel of a door. The VIN located on the dashboard is usually difficult to read, as it is only visible in a small transparent opening of a tinted area of a windshield. The VIN on the dashboard is also created without any contrasting colors with its background, thus making the letters and numbers that make up the VIN difficult to distinguish. While a VIN on a side door panel may be more easily visible, it requires that the door be opened in order to see it. The VIN may also appear on an insurance identification card that a driver carries as proof of insurance coverage (see FIG. 1). However, all of the locations of the VIN provide challenges in properly imaging the VIN for mobile imaging purposes.